Govt signals it will feed hungry kids

NZ Herald 6 Oct 2012
Food programmes for hungry Kiwi schoolchildren may soon get a boost from the Government to top off an overwhelming public response to recent media appeals.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, who chairs a Cabinet committee on poverty, has told the Weekend Herald society must accept an obligation to feed hungry children even if their parents lacked “a strong sense of responsibility”.

He said he was “quite open” to considering a national food strategy for low-decile schools as proposed by an expert group appointed by Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills.

“I wouldn’t rule it out. We need to address that directly in the context of the education budget,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that there are kids in homes where there is not a strong sense of responsibility. It’s the obligation of the rest of us to do something about that.”

Mr English said a recent survey found that only 3 to 4 per cent of children were missing out on breakfast.

“I don’t think it’s correct that tens of thousands of kids are turning up without breakfast.